engleski

Protection of biocoenotic balance in aquaculture receiving waters

Human activities often impact the dynamic balance of ecosystems. This is particularly so in and around food production and processing units, and aquaculture is not immune to this effect. Although aquaculture represents a true biotechnology, incorporating engineering and biological disciplines of wide variety ( biology, genetics, chemistry, physics, etc.), the pathology of aquatic organisms has special significance during production and processing exercises. Of growing concern has been the pathophysiological (disease) status of both cultured and wild organisms and how each might affect the biocoenotic balance of production or natural niches. One method of monitoring the impacts of cultured or wild organisms upon the health of aquatic environments is through the detection and subsequent monitoring of bioindicator organisms. Bioindicators are generally employed to evaluate and follow specific changes in their physiological or pathophysiological status in relation to alterations in the surrounding environment. Such alterations may be biotic and, or abiotic in nature. Specifically, bioindicators will be examined with regard to pathophysiological change resulting from viral, bacterial or other parasite interactions. Knowledge gained from such studies will be directly applied to the aquaculture industry as a means of reducing environmental impact while ensuring delivery of safe and high quality fish for human consumption. The paper will introduce contemporary technologies of diagnosing diseases in fish that will reduce analysis time while providing precise diagnoses. Such a capacity will provide the industry with greater flexibility for treating and controlling zoonoses with the net effect of reducing the impact of aquaculture operations upon receiving waters. Selection of appropriately screened bioindicator organisms, together with categorization of pathophysio. effects will furthermore, provide unique insights into the relationships between them and the aquatic environment. The potential impact of fish farms upon the disease and health status of feral teleosts and vice versa, will be undertaken using regular field observations in freshwater and marine locations. The overall outcome of the program of research will be a greater understanding of inter- relationship between captive and natural environments, enhanced technological capacity for the production of healthy food fish and increased aptitude for protecting the aquatic environment in general.

aquaculture; Croatia; fish; shellfish diseases

nije evidentirano